09 January 2014

URBN DK

Kenosha, Wisconsin legends URBN DK might mean a lot more if you were there, but who doesn't like high energy pogo punk? Dummies, that's who. I want to see the comments section filled with stories of Kenosha weirdos...

It's in the blood! Total road warriors era URBN DK. I would consider this v2.0 of the band. v1.0 was the more punk rock n roll version. And v3.0 was the more crustier version that ended up putting out some records on Beer City and elsewhere. By the time v3.0 was sputtering out, I think I remember Bob DK say he was sick of teaching the songs to yet another lineup. But then Bob went on to bigger and better things.

I loved this band growing up in K-Town. Shows with them and 10-96 were frequent throughout the 90s and URBN DK showed a little more "togetherness" in their playing styles than the more unhinged 10-96 (which was equally great in it's own right).

I remember large circle pits in the old Roosevelt Theater (RIP) basement (called The Underground RIP), when URBN DK would play with little more than a red and yellow light on. Kenosha shows always had an element of danger to them and URBN DK really helped shape a lot of musical minds there.

Obviously Bob DK is a huge influence since he's been involved with bands since, well, since the beginning. I lost this tape years ago, so it's nice to hear it again.

After a Despite show in Eau Claire or maybe Menominee. (the late nineties were kind of a blur) i once woke up after a night of drinking and Kenneth from Despite was naked playing an acoustic guitar on my couch. wasn't quite prepared for that one. Didn't ask any questions, just turned around and went back to bed.

Kenosha was (is?) home to perhaps the highest density of eccentric scumbag punks in the nation. Beautiful Bert and Dean Dirt were just the tip of the stinky iceberg. Muskegon though = might give'em a run for the money in the depravity sweepstakes with Jake Hitler, Elvis Roy, and Mark Spaniola leading the pack.

^^^ that high density of "eccentric scumbag punks" has thinned out over the years due to heroin and other drugs and stupidity. I can't even count how many people I know from the Kenosha scene who are either dead or in prison. And everyone can have their opinions of Bert and Dean and a host of others, but they were people too and I got along fine with them all.

I have always wondered why my hometown was so violent. I think looking at it from an intellectual (read: sellout) stand point, the combination of large city (100,000 population), Midwestern toughness, and basically every factory job closing down through the 80s and 90s = bored kids with something to prove. This boredom also resulted in a ton of creativity in my opinion. But it was and is still pretty self destructive. And a pretty insular scene.

My confusion growing up was why more punks, like myself and a few others, didn't venture out to bigger cities with more vibrant scenes like Milwaukee and Chicago. I did and that's probably part of the reason of why I moved away.

And though I have gone back to shows in Kenosha from time to time and I do get some great hugs and hi fives from friends, there's always a bit of a wary eye cast towards me that I don't know what Kenosha is all about because I moved away.I disagree with that, but I can see where they're coming from.

Saw and played with URBN DK many times between '95-'97 everywhere from Green Bay to Wausau, WI to Kenosha to Manitowoc to Chicago to Minneapolis. A band who NEVER played a bad gig, were always insanely tight, and managed to replace one great vocalist with an equally great one. Bob (Guitarist of URBN DK) is one of the nicest guys and a living wealth of h/c knowledge. Someone seriously needs to release a URBN DK discography!!!

I'm the guy that uploaded the tape rip of this on youtube. Their former bassist Dion was kind enough to lend me his copy of in the blood and another tape that had the lost song "confines of lies" from the human indifference session. He gave me the green light to leak it then i started my youtube channel. Since then I've been uploading all my Kenosha arvies, other midwest bands, and shit that I think should just be heard. Glad people are hearing this and sharing it.

TAPES....FUCKING TAPES!!!

TERMINAL ESCAPE is a home for cassettes. Terminal Escape is here to share music that was released on, or copied onto, cassette. Whenever possible, I have linked the posts to currently active labels and/or bands, and you are encouraged to buy physical copies of the tapes you enjoy, as this blog is meant to support those bands and labels, not circumvent them. Likewise, if you have a legitimate claim to any of the music I've shared and would like it removed, I'm happy to do so.

DEAD LINKS are common. I will likely not repair broken links, because I am more focused on daily uploads. Various overzealous file hosting sites are making it increasingly difficult to share even non-copyright protected music, and as a result the majority of the download links in older Terminal Escape posts are probably not active.